Tag: chick lit

Bridget Jones’s Diary documents the life, loves and calories of a 30 something ‘singleton’ who specialises in broken relationships, dysfunctional parents, the ability to infuse diets with Mars Bars and blue soup. In short, this is a satirical look at the life of a young woman living in the 21st century whose only idea of culture is a night in front of the TV watching blind date.

This is a very funny book and Helen Fielding in creating Bridget has given us a character who is very easy to identify with. The humour in the book comes from watching her do the things we’ve all done a million times before but have never admitted to. For example, we have all at some point cursed the invention of 1471 for what in the end becomes an obsessive compulsion to see if that one special person has called … and have all therefore been plunged into a pit of despair when we discover that the last and only person to ever call was your dad!

My only criticism of the book is that it has a slightly predictable ending; though leaving Bridget to any other fate would only have left readers feeling cheated. This is a book for all those people who understand the importance of chocolate and who indulge their addictions even against their better judgement. We’ve all been there and bought the t-shirt – now you can read the book.

My guilty pleasure when it comes to reading is a good chick-lit – or a romantic comedy, if you will. I’ve been feeling a little down lately so I pulled out an old favourite for a re-read. PS I Love You by Cecilia Ahern. I’ve read it quite a few times and I really do enjoy it.

I’ve always found it an intriguing premise for a novel, and an inspirational idea in general. Holly is a newly-widowed 29-year-old who discovers that her husband has left her a “list” of instructions for her to follow as she adjusts to life without him. Some of the instructions are simple, some not, but all come from the love that they had for one another and his desire that she be okay on her own, as her own person.

How Holly adjusts to this new scenario is very interesting – the people she was used to leaning on disappear, and ones who were always problematic turn out to be her best support. I’m particularly pleased with the character of Holly’s mother, Elizabeth, and the fact that she knows what to say (and, more importantly, what to leave unsaid).

I’m always surprised by some of the sequences – there were points where the storyline could easily become sterotypical but then it goes in a different direction entirely. I love when that happens. A brilliant first novel and one that always makes me want to read more of Cecilia Ahern’s books

Welcome

My name is Samantha and I’m a Welsh geek who loves to bake, especially cupcakes. I also have a passion for physics, engineering, mechanics, floral dresses, rugby, 80s pop music and science fiction